Red Highway Read Online Free PDF

Virgil turn his head to look at him. “What do you mean by that?”
    â€œI mean this,” said the other, spreading his hands as if to pick something up. “There’s this little bank, see, in Dawes. I been thinkin’ about it ever since I met this guy who come from there. It’s a small town. The only law around is one old constable, and he’s nothin’. It won’t take but five minutes to pull up in front, hit it, and tear out again. Lead pipe.”
    â€œSo? What’s that got to do with me?”
    â€œThat’s where you come in. We need a good, reliable wheel man. I seen you handle them big trucks back in Oklahoma. If you can still roll like that, you’re the man we want.”
    Virgil shook his head. “It’s no good. I’m gonna be in here for the next three years.”
    â€œSo what?” Moss was annoyed. “I got two and a half to serve myself. Nobody’s gonna move on accounta this plan is all mine. I ain’t told nobody about it, ’cept you.”
    â€œYou’ll still be out six months ahead of me.”
    â€œSo we’ll wait.”
    â€œWe?” Virgil raised his eyebrows.
    â€œSure, we. Me an’ Floyd an’ Roy.”
    â€œRoy?”
    Moss looked surprised. “Roy. Roy Farrell.” He said it as if it were supposed to mean something.
    Virgil shook his head, uncomprehending.
    â€œRoy Farrell,” began Moss pompously, “is only the biggest bank robber in Oklahoma. My brother’s with him now, and Roy sends word that he needs all the good men I can get. You’re the first. Whattaya say, kid? You in?”
    Virgil thought it over. Bank robbery. That was one he’d never considered. Well, why not? It was a step up. “Okay,” he said, cheerfully resigning himself to his cellmate’s hands. “Deal me in.”
    â€œGreat!” Moss took aim to punch him in the shoulder, but Virgil dodged it. The older man gave it up and squatted on the floor, signaling for Virgil to join him. He began tracing the plan of Dawes bank on the concrete floor. “This is the front door,” he said, drawing a thick thumbnail across the thin layer of dust, “and this is the vault, about fifteen feet in. Now, there are never more’n five or six people in there at one time.…”
    Virgil watched intently as the plan began to take shape. There, on the floor of his cell, the young Oklahoman studied the diagram that was to remain in his head for the next three years.

Chapter Four
    Virgil was standing outside the prison gates when the spotless Auburn came careening around the corner and slowed to a stop beside the curb at his feet. It was five years old, the 1920 639K model, long and high and luxurious and yellow with black fenders and top. Somebody had been at the wooden spoke wheels with furniture polish and a cloth, for they gleamed almost as brightly as did the chrome headlights. Virgil caught sight of the fresh-faced brunette beaming behind the wheel and smiled. It was Hazel.
    She reached across the seat and hit the doorhandle, unlocking it. Her arms were around his neck before he could open his mouth, and she was planting kisses all over his face. He detached himself from her advances reluctantly, giving her a kiss as a consolation prize. “That stuff can wait,” he said brightly. “First, I got to get used to the open air.” He threw himself back in the plush seat and inhaled mightily, filling his lungs with the pure Missouri air, then let it out with a sigh. “You got no idea how sweet it smells out here.”
    Hazel grinned broadly, showing off her milky-white teeth. “Maybe it’s me you’re smelling.”
    Virgil reached out and tickled her chin. “Well now, that could just be possible.” He withdrew his hand and looked about him, at the clean luxury of the sedan’s interior. “Where’d you get the machine? Steal it?”
    â€œIt